Post by R' Y'hoshua Moshe on Nov 9, 2007 23:38:23 GMT -8
I didn't see anything posted for Chayei Sarah for 2007...so, I will go ahead and post the d'rash that I delivered at our Synagogue on November 3rd 2007...
A d’rash on parashah Chayei Sarah
By Re’uel D.[/center]
As we open to parashah Chayei Sarah we see that Sarah’s life has ended and Avraham has reached the land to which he was promised in covenant by El Shaddai. It was here that Avraham would purchase a field and a cave to bury his beloved wife Sarah. It would be here that Avraham would finally settle down, in the land of Kena’an, the future Eretz Yisrael (The Land Of Yisrael) which is the location of the past and future Bet HaMikdash, The Holy Temple of Elohim. This is the very land that is so hotly contended to this day. It would be in this land that Avraham would die at the ripe old age of 175 years…over 75 years after he was given the covenant connected to this land, and the sign of that covenant, the covenant of circumcision.
In the 25th chapter of the book of Bereisheet (Gen.) we see that Avraham has a concern as to whom his son Yitzchak would marry. Avraham charged his head servant Eliezer not to allow Yitzchak to marry any woman from Kena’an. In Bereisheet (Gen.) 24:2-6,
“Avraham said to the servant who had served him the longest, who was in charge of all he owned, "Put your hand under my thigh; because I want you to swear by YHVH, God of heaven and God of the earth, that you will not choose a wife for my son from among the women of the Kena`ani, among whom I am living; but that you will go to my homeland, to my kinsmen, to choose a wife for my son Yitz'chak." The servant replied, "Suppose the woman isn't willing to follow me to this land. Must I then bring your son back to the land from which you came?" Avraham said to him, "See to it that you don't bring my son back there.”
And, in verse 8 Avraham reiterates, “But if the woman is unwilling to follow you, then you are released from your obligation under my oath. Just don't bring my son back there."
Avraham has two concerns that he sternly shares with his head servant Eliezer. Firstly, don’t allow my son to marry a Kena’ani. And secondly, don’t let him return to my homeland.
Unequally Yoked
Avraham’s concern is most valid. He didn’t want Yitzchak to be unequally yoked with the immoral Kena’ani culture…especially one that was surrounding him and of which would be a constant temptation for Yitzchak to appease if married to a Kena’ani woman. In a similar manner we are exhorted and warned when making unions with others (whether it be a marriage or various other associations) not to be unequally yoked with them. In 2Corinthians 6:14-18 we read the following,
“Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership does righteousness have with lawlessness? And what fellowship does light have with darkness? And what agreement does Messiah have with B'liya`al? Or what part does a believer have with an unbeliever? And what agreement does a temple of God have with idols? For you are a temple of the living God, even as God said, "I will" dwell in them and "walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people." Because of this, "come out from among them" "and be separated," says Adonai, "and do not touch the unclean thing," and I will receive you. "And I will be a Father to you, and you will be sons" and daughters to Me, says Adonai-Tzva'ot.”
Not only are we not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers and various other associations, but we are not to be unequally yoked with the ways of this world, the ways and traditions of the Gentile nations. We are not to be taking on the traditions of the pagans that surround us. For example, some of these traditions and practices that many us are familiar with would include the celebration of Halloween, Christmas, Easter, and several other such observances. These things are not from Adonai! In 1Kefa (Peter) 3:15 we are told to have a ready answer for the convictions that we hold. It states, “But sanctify" the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give an answer to everyone asking you a reason concerning the hope in you, with meekness and fear…”. And, where can people point in the scriptures to justify the celebration and accompanying practices for these observances which have roots in the worship of false gods? Where does God call His people to do such things?? In addition to Rav Sha’ul’s (Paul’s) warning which we read in 2Corinthians, the Prophet Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) agrees as he writes the following in chapter ten of the book of Yirmeyahu…
“Hear the word YHVH speaks to you, house of Yisra'el! Here is what YHVH says: "Don't learn the way of the Goyim (Gentiles), don't be frightened by astrological signs, even if the Goyim are afraid of them; for the customs of the peoples are nothing. They cut down a tree in the forest; a craftsman works it with his axe; they deck it with silver and gold. They fix it with hammer and nails, so that it won't move. Like a scarecrow in a cucumber patch, it cannot speak. It has to be carried, because it cannot walk. Do not be afraid of it — it can do nothing bad; likewise it is unable to do anything good!"
- Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 10:1-5
Six chapters later in chapter 16:20 Yirmeyahu prophesies, “O YHVH, my strength and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the nations shall come to You from the ends of the earth and say, Our fathers have inherited only lies, vanity, and there is no profit in them.”
Have you or your family inherited lies, worthless things in which there is no profit? Have you inherited the ways of the nations which have no connection with the
of Adonai?? Will you continue to perpetuate these lies and vain practices, or will you be counted as those of the nations whom will come to Adonai from all over the Earth recognizing that the things they inherited from their fathers were beliefs and practices not rooted in the Word of God? Those whom are of the spiritual seed of Avraham will be those whom have the faith of Avraham and whom through that faith…are faithful. They will be those whom reject any practice that currently or in the past gives or gave glory to another false god. Or, have we forgotten that we serve a jealous God? In Devarim (Deut.) 32:31 Adonai states,
“They aroused my jealousy with a non-god and provoked me with their vanities…”
Using practices that have their foundations in false worship of other gods yet reassigning values to now honor the God of Yisrael would be similar to if a man or women had a past spouse and was later remarried to another, but thereafter used traditions and practices to honor the new spouse that were especially formulated to honor the past spouse. We are not to do so with the Adonai our God!
In Devarim (Deut.) 12:29-31 it states, “When YHVH your God shall cut off the nations from before you, where you go in to dispossess them, and you dispossess them, and dwell in their land; take heed to yourself that you not be ensnared to follow them, after that they are destroyed from before you; and that you not inquire after their gods, saying, How do these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise. You shall not do so to YHVH your God: for every abomination to YHVH, which he hates, have they done to their gods…”
So we are not serve and worship Adonai with any practices or ways that have been previously been used in the worship of false gods. We are told, “You shall not do so to YHVH your God”. Just to clarify how Adonai wishes for us to worship Him…He states in the very next verse the following,
“Whatever thing I command you, that shall you observe to do: you shall not add thereto, nor diminish from it.”
And, not surprisingly, with this Our Rabbi and Messiah Yeshua agrees. In Mattityahu (Matthew) 15:7-9 we read Yeshua say, “You hypocrites! Yesha`yahu (Isai.) was right when he prophesied about you, 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far away from me. Their worship of me is useless, But in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men..' "
But, this is exactly what Avraham wanted to avoid in not having his son Yitzchak marry from the Kena’ani. He wanted his son to walk in the way of Adonai. And, this is primarily why Adonai chose Avraham. In last week’s parashah we read that Adonai says of Avraham,
“For I have made myself known to him, so that he will give orders to his children and to his household after him to keep the way of YHVH and to do what is right and just, so that YHVH may bring about for Avraham what he has promised him." - Beresheit (Gen.) 18:19
And, in next week’s parashah Adonai says to Avraham, “And I will increase your seed like the stars of the heavens, and I will give to your seed all these lands. And all the nations of the earth shall bless themselves in your Seed, because Abraham listened to My voice and heeded My charge, My commands, My statutes, and My laws.” – Bereisheet (Gen.) 26:4-5
So, we know that in Bereisheet 15:6 Avraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness, but we also know that in Ya’akov (James) 2:20 it states “faith without works is dead”. But, Avraham’s faith was alive indeed. In parashah Chayei Sarah we see that Avraham was setting in motion events to avoid his son Yitzchak falling into an unequally yoked union that would compromise The Kingdom plan.
No Return
The thought of Avraham’s family backsliding to Ur was something that Avraham could not bear. He certainly didn’t want his son to marry a Kena’ani, but he also did not want his son to become snared in the land of which Adonai had called him from, a land that also could be a stumbling block to his son Yitzchak. There always was the chance that the seed of Avraham could end up right where he started. And, indeed an attempt was made to keep the servant of Avraham from leaving with Rivka. In Bereisheet (Gen.) 24:51-54 we read,
“Rivkah is here in front of you; take her and go. Let her be your master's son's wife, as YHVH has said." When Avraham's servant heard what they said, he prostrated himself on the ground to YHVH. Then the servant brought out silver and gold jewelry, together with clothing, and gave them to Rivkah. He also gave valuable gifts to her brother and mother. He and his men then ate and drank and stayed the night.”
So far, so good. But, as we continue to read we see the following…
“In the morning they got up; and he said, "Send me off to my master."
Her brother and mother said, "Let the girl stay with us a few days, at least ten. After that, she will go." He answered them, "Don't delay me, since YHVH has made my trip successful, but let me go back to my master." They said, "We will call the girl and see what she says." They called Rivkah and asked her, "Will you go with this man?" and she replied, "I will." - Bereisheet (Gen.) 24:51-54
I believe that Avraham’s concern was the will of God being played out and was similar to Adonai not wanting Yisrael to backslide and return to the land of Mitzrayim (Egypt). Speaking of the King of Yisrael Adonai says the following in Devarim (Deut.) 17:16,
“However, he is not to acquire many horses for himself or have the people return to Egypt to obtain more horses, inasmuch as YHVH told you never to go back that way again.”
Similarly, Adonai doesn’t want us to backslide if we are currently following his voice and following the path of that he has set before us. After we have learned of God’s initial plan we have to continue to move forward in our learning and relationship with Him. We cannot be satisfied to live only on the milk of the Word, as that is food to meant to nourish a babe. As good disciples we must continue to grow up into the likeness of Yeshua our Rabbi. To do that we must learn to eat more substantial food such as the meat found in God’s Word, which will grow us into mature adults.
On that note, I conclude with the book of Hebrews 6:1-15…
“Therefore, leaving behind the initial lessons about the Messiah, let us go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of turning from works that lead to death, trusting God, and instruction about washings, s'mikhah (laying on of hands), the resurrection of the dead and eternal punishment. And, God willing, this is what we will do. For when people have once been enlightened, tasted the heavenly gift, become sharers in the Ruach HaKodesh, and tasted the goodness of God's Word and the powers of the `olam haba —and then have fallen away — it is impossible to renew them so that they turn from their sin, as long as for themselves they keep executing the Son of God on the stake all over again and keep holding him up to public contempt. For the land that soaks up frequent rains and then brings forth a crop useful to its owners receives a blessing from God; but if it keeps producing thorns and thistles, it fails the test and is close to being cursed; in the end, it will be burned. Now even though we speak this way, dear friends, we are confident that you have the better things that come with being delivered. For God is not so unfair as to forget your work and the love you showed for him in your past service to his people — and in your present service too.
However, we want each one of you to keep showing the same diligence right up to the end, when your hope will be realized; so that you will not become sluggish, but will be imitators of those who by their trust and patience are receiving what has been promised. For when God made his promise to Avraham, he swore an oath to do what he had promised; and since there was no one greater than himself for him to swear by, he swore by himself and said, "I will certainly bless you, and I will certainly give you many descendants"; and so, after waiting patiently, Avraham saw the promise fulfilled.”
Shalom aleychem
Don’t Bring My Son Back There!
A d’rash on parashah Chayei Sarah
By Re’uel D.[/center]
As we open to parashah Chayei Sarah we see that Sarah’s life has ended and Avraham has reached the land to which he was promised in covenant by El Shaddai. It was here that Avraham would purchase a field and a cave to bury his beloved wife Sarah. It would be here that Avraham would finally settle down, in the land of Kena’an, the future Eretz Yisrael (The Land Of Yisrael) which is the location of the past and future Bet HaMikdash, The Holy Temple of Elohim. This is the very land that is so hotly contended to this day. It would be in this land that Avraham would die at the ripe old age of 175 years…over 75 years after he was given the covenant connected to this land, and the sign of that covenant, the covenant of circumcision.
In the 25th chapter of the book of Bereisheet (Gen.) we see that Avraham has a concern as to whom his son Yitzchak would marry. Avraham charged his head servant Eliezer not to allow Yitzchak to marry any woman from Kena’an. In Bereisheet (Gen.) 24:2-6,
“Avraham said to the servant who had served him the longest, who was in charge of all he owned, "Put your hand under my thigh; because I want you to swear by YHVH, God of heaven and God of the earth, that you will not choose a wife for my son from among the women of the Kena`ani, among whom I am living; but that you will go to my homeland, to my kinsmen, to choose a wife for my son Yitz'chak." The servant replied, "Suppose the woman isn't willing to follow me to this land. Must I then bring your son back to the land from which you came?" Avraham said to him, "See to it that you don't bring my son back there.”
And, in verse 8 Avraham reiterates, “But if the woman is unwilling to follow you, then you are released from your obligation under my oath. Just don't bring my son back there."
Avraham has two concerns that he sternly shares with his head servant Eliezer. Firstly, don’t allow my son to marry a Kena’ani. And secondly, don’t let him return to my homeland.
Unequally Yoked
Avraham’s concern is most valid. He didn’t want Yitzchak to be unequally yoked with the immoral Kena’ani culture…especially one that was surrounding him and of which would be a constant temptation for Yitzchak to appease if married to a Kena’ani woman. In a similar manner we are exhorted and warned when making unions with others (whether it be a marriage or various other associations) not to be unequally yoked with them. In 2Corinthians 6:14-18 we read the following,
“Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership does righteousness have with lawlessness? And what fellowship does light have with darkness? And what agreement does Messiah have with B'liya`al? Or what part does a believer have with an unbeliever? And what agreement does a temple of God have with idols? For you are a temple of the living God, even as God said, "I will" dwell in them and "walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people." Because of this, "come out from among them" "and be separated," says Adonai, "and do not touch the unclean thing," and I will receive you. "And I will be a Father to you, and you will be sons" and daughters to Me, says Adonai-Tzva'ot.”
Not only are we not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers and various other associations, but we are not to be unequally yoked with the ways of this world, the ways and traditions of the Gentile nations. We are not to be taking on the traditions of the pagans that surround us. For example, some of these traditions and practices that many us are familiar with would include the celebration of Halloween, Christmas, Easter, and several other such observances. These things are not from Adonai! In 1Kefa (Peter) 3:15 we are told to have a ready answer for the convictions that we hold. It states, “But sanctify" the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give an answer to everyone asking you a reason concerning the hope in you, with meekness and fear…”. And, where can people point in the scriptures to justify the celebration and accompanying practices for these observances which have roots in the worship of false gods? Where does God call His people to do such things?? In addition to Rav Sha’ul’s (Paul’s) warning which we read in 2Corinthians, the Prophet Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) agrees as he writes the following in chapter ten of the book of Yirmeyahu…
“Hear the word YHVH speaks to you, house of Yisra'el! Here is what YHVH says: "Don't learn the way of the Goyim (Gentiles), don't be frightened by astrological signs, even if the Goyim are afraid of them; for the customs of the peoples are nothing. They cut down a tree in the forest; a craftsman works it with his axe; they deck it with silver and gold. They fix it with hammer and nails, so that it won't move. Like a scarecrow in a cucumber patch, it cannot speak. It has to be carried, because it cannot walk. Do not be afraid of it — it can do nothing bad; likewise it is unable to do anything good!"
- Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 10:1-5
Six chapters later in chapter 16:20 Yirmeyahu prophesies, “O YHVH, my strength and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the nations shall come to You from the ends of the earth and say, Our fathers have inherited only lies, vanity, and there is no profit in them.”
Have you or your family inherited lies, worthless things in which there is no profit? Have you inherited the ways of the nations which have no connection with the
of Adonai?? Will you continue to perpetuate these lies and vain practices, or will you be counted as those of the nations whom will come to Adonai from all over the Earth recognizing that the things they inherited from their fathers were beliefs and practices not rooted in the Word of God? Those whom are of the spiritual seed of Avraham will be those whom have the faith of Avraham and whom through that faith…are faithful. They will be those whom reject any practice that currently or in the past gives or gave glory to another false god. Or, have we forgotten that we serve a jealous God? In Devarim (Deut.) 32:31 Adonai states,“They aroused my jealousy with a non-god and provoked me with their vanities…”
Using practices that have their foundations in false worship of other gods yet reassigning values to now honor the God of Yisrael would be similar to if a man or women had a past spouse and was later remarried to another, but thereafter used traditions and practices to honor the new spouse that were especially formulated to honor the past spouse. We are not to do so with the Adonai our God!
In Devarim (Deut.) 12:29-31 it states, “When YHVH your God shall cut off the nations from before you, where you go in to dispossess them, and you dispossess them, and dwell in their land; take heed to yourself that you not be ensnared to follow them, after that they are destroyed from before you; and that you not inquire after their gods, saying, How do these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise. You shall not do so to YHVH your God: for every abomination to YHVH, which he hates, have they done to their gods…”
So we are not serve and worship Adonai with any practices or ways that have been previously been used in the worship of false gods. We are told, “You shall not do so to YHVH your God”. Just to clarify how Adonai wishes for us to worship Him…He states in the very next verse the following,
“Whatever thing I command you, that shall you observe to do: you shall not add thereto, nor diminish from it.”
And, not surprisingly, with this Our Rabbi and Messiah Yeshua agrees. In Mattityahu (Matthew) 15:7-9 we read Yeshua say, “You hypocrites! Yesha`yahu (Isai.) was right when he prophesied about you, 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far away from me. Their worship of me is useless, But in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men..' "
But, this is exactly what Avraham wanted to avoid in not having his son Yitzchak marry from the Kena’ani. He wanted his son to walk in the way of Adonai. And, this is primarily why Adonai chose Avraham. In last week’s parashah we read that Adonai says of Avraham,
“For I have made myself known to him, so that he will give orders to his children and to his household after him to keep the way of YHVH and to do what is right and just, so that YHVH may bring about for Avraham what he has promised him." - Beresheit (Gen.) 18:19
And, in next week’s parashah Adonai says to Avraham, “And I will increase your seed like the stars of the heavens, and I will give to your seed all these lands. And all the nations of the earth shall bless themselves in your Seed, because Abraham listened to My voice and heeded My charge, My commands, My statutes, and My laws.” – Bereisheet (Gen.) 26:4-5
So, we know that in Bereisheet 15:6 Avraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness, but we also know that in Ya’akov (James) 2:20 it states “faith without works is dead”. But, Avraham’s faith was alive indeed. In parashah Chayei Sarah we see that Avraham was setting in motion events to avoid his son Yitzchak falling into an unequally yoked union that would compromise The Kingdom plan.
No Return
The thought of Avraham’s family backsliding to Ur was something that Avraham could not bear. He certainly didn’t want his son to marry a Kena’ani, but he also did not want his son to become snared in the land of which Adonai had called him from, a land that also could be a stumbling block to his son Yitzchak. There always was the chance that the seed of Avraham could end up right where he started. And, indeed an attempt was made to keep the servant of Avraham from leaving with Rivka. In Bereisheet (Gen.) 24:51-54 we read,
“Rivkah is here in front of you; take her and go. Let her be your master's son's wife, as YHVH has said." When Avraham's servant heard what they said, he prostrated himself on the ground to YHVH. Then the servant brought out silver and gold jewelry, together with clothing, and gave them to Rivkah. He also gave valuable gifts to her brother and mother. He and his men then ate and drank and stayed the night.”
So far, so good. But, as we continue to read we see the following…
“In the morning they got up; and he said, "Send me off to my master."
Her brother and mother said, "Let the girl stay with us a few days, at least ten. After that, she will go." He answered them, "Don't delay me, since YHVH has made my trip successful, but let me go back to my master." They said, "We will call the girl and see what she says." They called Rivkah and asked her, "Will you go with this man?" and she replied, "I will." - Bereisheet (Gen.) 24:51-54
I believe that Avraham’s concern was the will of God being played out and was similar to Adonai not wanting Yisrael to backslide and return to the land of Mitzrayim (Egypt). Speaking of the King of Yisrael Adonai says the following in Devarim (Deut.) 17:16,
“However, he is not to acquire many horses for himself or have the people return to Egypt to obtain more horses, inasmuch as YHVH told you never to go back that way again.”
Similarly, Adonai doesn’t want us to backslide if we are currently following his voice and following the path of
that he has set before us. After we have learned of God’s initial plan we have to continue to move forward in our learning and relationship with Him. We cannot be satisfied to live only on the milk of the Word, as that is food to meant to nourish a babe. As good disciples we must continue to grow up into the likeness of Yeshua our Rabbi. To do that we must learn to eat more substantial food such as the meat found in God’s Word, which will grow us into mature adults. On that note, I conclude with the book of Hebrews 6:1-15…
“Therefore, leaving behind the initial lessons about the Messiah, let us go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of turning from works that lead to death, trusting God, and instruction about washings, s'mikhah (laying on of hands), the resurrection of the dead and eternal punishment. And, God willing, this is what we will do. For when people have once been enlightened, tasted the heavenly gift, become sharers in the Ruach HaKodesh, and tasted the goodness of God's Word and the powers of the `olam haba —and then have fallen away — it is impossible to renew them so that they turn from their sin, as long as for themselves they keep executing the Son of God on the stake all over again and keep holding him up to public contempt. For the land that soaks up frequent rains and then brings forth a crop useful to its owners receives a blessing from God; but if it keeps producing thorns and thistles, it fails the test and is close to being cursed; in the end, it will be burned. Now even though we speak this way, dear friends, we are confident that you have the better things that come with being delivered. For God is not so unfair as to forget your work and the love you showed for him in your past service to his people — and in your present service too.
However, we want each one of you to keep showing the same diligence right up to the end, when your hope will be realized; so that you will not become sluggish, but will be imitators of those who by their trust and patience are receiving what has been promised. For when God made his promise to Avraham, he swore an oath to do what he had promised; and since there was no one greater than himself for him to swear by, he swore by himself and said, "I will certainly bless you, and I will certainly give you many descendants"; and so, after waiting patiently, Avraham saw the promise fulfilled.”
Shalom aleychem
